Police and emergency personnel stand near the Russell Senate Office Building in Washington, DC, on August 2, 2023, after unconfirmed reports of an active shooter in the building near the US Capitol.
Saul Loeb | AFP | Getty Images
Capitol Police reopened a Senate office building Wednesday after sweeping the area and finding “no suspicious activity or persons of interest,” the House Sergeant at Arms said in a statement.
Police said a report of an active shooter at a Senate office building “appears to be a bad call.”
U.S. Capitol Police Chief Thomas Manger at a press conference later Wednesday seemed to agree. “This may have been a bogus call,” he said.
The U.S. Capitol Police issued a shelter-in-place order before 3 p.m. for people inside Senate office buildings while its officers responded to a report of a possible active shooter.
The USCP had tweeted that its officers were searching in and around those buildings “in response to a concerning 911 call.” The department noted at the time that it had not confirmed reports of gunshots.
U.S. Senate staff members evacuate under police supervision after an unconfirmed report of an active shooter spurred a lockdown in office buildings on Capitol Hill in Washington, August 2, 2023.
Jonathan Ernst | Reuters
NBC News reported people being evacuated from the Russell Senate Office Building, one of the three Senate buildings along Constitution Avenue, around 3 p.m.
The USCP’s shelter-in-place order was still active, Manger said around 4 p.m., though people inside the buildings are being allowed out if they ask to leave.
“We’ve found nothing concerning” so far, he said.
The original call to the MPD about the active shooter had police on the lookout for a “heavyset Hispanic male wearing body armor,” Manger said. The caller claimed that the active shooter situation was in Hart Senate Office Building.
But no one has since reported seeing anything, according to the police chief, and the number from the original caller “just bounces back.”
People walk out of the Russell Senate Office Building with their hands in the air in Washington, DC, on August 2, 2023, after unconfirmed reports of an active shooter in the building near the US Capitol.
Saul Loeb | AFP | Getty Images
The USCP tweeted at 4:04 p.m.: “All buildings have been cleared at this time. The buildings have not been reopened.”
The MPD said it was assisting the Capitol Police.
The House and Senate are both in recess until September.